Andretti, Haywood, Pruett, Rahal, Roush and Taylor Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Race
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla – The Rolex 24 At Daytona found the perfect way to honor the history of the great endurance race for its 60th running: by selecting six grand marshals whose achievements made lasting impressions.
Mario Andretti, Hurley Haywood, Scott Pruett, Bobby Rahal, Jack Roush and Wayne Taylor all made their mark on the Rolex 24 over the last six decades. And all were delighted to be invited back to the scene of some of their happiest days.
“I just love Daytona,” enthused Haywood, who became the first five-time winner of the Rolex 24 in 1991, adding to a quartet of triumphs in the 1970s.
“I remember the first time I came through the tunnel, it took my breath away. The France family and everybody at Daytona has been so wonderful to me over the years. When I retired in 2012, that was my 40th start here, and I’ve been back every year since. So that’s 50-some years.”
Andretti is being feted by Daytona for the second time in the last five years. He served as grand marshal for the 2017 Daytona 500 on the 50th anniversary of his victory in the iconic NASCAR race. This year marks 50 years since Andretti and Jacky Ickx triumphed in a Ferrari in a truncated, six-hour version of the Rolex 24.
“It’s so awesome to be able to revisit with all these dudes here and reminisce about some of the stories – embellish some of the stories,” Andretti said, chuckling.
The patriarch of the Andretti racing dynasty had another reason to travel to Daytona this year – his grand-nephew Jarett Andretti is co-driving the No. 36 Andretti Autosport Le Mans Prototype 3 entry in the 24-hour classic.
“We (Andrettis) keep appearing, somehow!” Mario laughed. “I guess we don’t know and don’t care about anything else – we just love our racing, and I hope it continues. It gives me a reason to attend these events and it becomes very special.”
Prior to his successful career as a championship-winning team owner in NASCAR, Roush fielded a powerhouse sports car team in IMSA. Roush-prepared cars claimed a remarkable 10 consecutive Rolex 24 class wins starting in 1985.
“I’ve participated in this event more times than I can count on my fingers and toes,” Roush said. “We had great success in the 24-hour race and rode on the backs of some really good people. We had more success than I felt I deserved.”
Several of Roush’s Rolex 24 wins came in the hands of the event’s most decorated driver, Pruett. The genial Californian claimed a total of 10 Rolex 24 victories, including five overall triumphs, over the course of a career that netted 60 IMSA wins.
“I believe my first year here was 1985, and it’s hard to believe all that time went past,” said Pruett. “This place continues to hold that magic. The Rolex 24 kicks off everything, and everyone wants to be here.
“It’s great to be up here with these guys,” he added. “Typically, we were competing against each other, quite frankly with our foot on each other’s throat. But now we get the opportunity to talk about how good we used to be – or thought so anyway!”
Along with Brian Redman and Bob Garretson, Rahal won the 1981 Rolex 24 in the legendary Porsche 935. He’s now the driving force behind BMW M Team RLL, which is a past Rolex 24 class winner and fields two GTD PRO entries in the WeatherTech Championship, as well as a successful Indy car team.
“I grew up around sports car racing with my dad,” Rahal said, “and to see the state that sports car racing is at today, it’s been quite a long time since it’s been good as it is today, and maybe never. It’s good to be part of it.”
Like Rahal, Taylor has tasted success in the Rolex 24 as a driver and a car owner. Wayne Taylor Racing has claimed four of the last five overall wins.
“To win this race as a driver is something really special,” Taylor added. “I didn’t think anything could top that. But being able to win as a team owner and having both of my sons (Jordan and Ricky, in 2017) in the car, I’ve got to say that’s a bigger deal.”